1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a gas/liquid/solids separator and more particularly to improvements in a separator designed to separate oil, carbon, and gases in the exhaust fumes of an internal combustion engine.
2. Prior Art
In internal combustion engines, and especially in diesel engines, exhaust fumes containing oil, carbon, and water must be removed from the engine and disposed in an environmentally sound manner. In addition, many diesel engines run with a pressure in the crankcase to assist with the venting of potentially explosive oil vapors. These exhaust fumes must also be safely and properly handled. The container and separator apparatus must beable to deal with wide variability in the amount and content of the exhaust fumes and particularly with regard to liquids. The separator apparatus must be able to handle high liquid flows without creating high back pressure against the engine exhaust.
The present invention provides several improvements over the invention disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,668,254, dated May 26, 1987. In one aspect an eductor with a check valve allows exhaust fumes to enter from a pressurized crankcase. In another aspect, a swirl vanes device improves the volume and velocity changes needed to more efficiently and effectively separate liquids and solids from gases. A further aspect relates to a float ball valve assembly which allows for liquids removal at high liquid levels and provides a method to pressurize the container for rapid, forced expulsion of liquids from the container at abnormally high liquid levels.